Bed mattress using permeable reinforcing member and foaming material, and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a bed mattress and a method of manufacturing the same, in which a permeable reinforcing member is provided at an upper portion and a lower portion of a spring assembly which is one of frame constituents of the bed mattress, and a foaming material is disposed on the permeable reinforcing member so as to be foamed, so that the spring assembly and the foaming material are integrally formed while the foaming material is expanded through fine holes and/or foam expansion holes of the permeable reinforcing member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/486,587 filed on Jul. 13, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,721,367, whichclaims the benefit of Korean Application No. 10-2005-0081083 filed onSep. 1, 2005 and Korean Application No. 10-2006-0015364 filed Feb. 17,2006, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a bed mattress using a permeablereinforcing member and a foaming material, and a method of manufacturingthe same, and more particularly to such a bed mattress and a method ofmanufacturing the same, in which a permeable reinforcing member isprovided at an upper portion and a lower portion of a spring assemblywhich is one of frame constituents of the bed mattress, and a foamingmaterial is disposed on the permeable reinforcing member so as to befoamed, so that the spring assembly and the foaming material areintegrally formed while the foaming material is expanded through fineholes and/or foam expansion holes of the permeable reinforcing member.

2. Background of the Related Art

In general, a bed mattress is mounted on a bed frame and is used asmeans adapted to provide a cushion force and buffering force. The bedmattress basically includes a spring assembly, an intermediate memberlaminatedly attached on the upper and lower surfaces of the springassembly, an edge foamer fittingly attached to the lateral surface ofthe spring assembly, and a cover member for protecting the surfaces ofthe intermediate member and the edge former.

Herein, a process for manufacturing a conventional bed mattress will behereinafter described in brief with reference to FIG. 14.

Referring to FIG. 14, first, a spring assembly 10 is fabricated, whichincludes coil springs 12 arranged along row and column directions overthe entire area of the bed mattress in such a fashion as to be spacedapart from one another at regular intervals, and a helical coil 14 forsecurely engaging the coil springs 12 with one another.

Subsequently, an edge foamer 30 as a support means is fittingly attachedto the lateral surface of the spring assembly 10.

Thereafter, a multi-layered cushion means including a felt and anon-woven fabric as an intermediate member 32 is continuously laminatedon the upper and lower surfaces of the spring assembly 10.

Finally, the upper and lower surfaces and the circumferential edgesurface of the intermediate member 32 as well as the outer surface ofthe edge foamer 30 are covered with a cover member 28, and then a seamportion of the cover member 28 is hermetically sealed with a sealingmeans.

Therefore, when a user sleeps, a load exerted to the bed mattress isabsorbed and buffered by means of a cushion force of the intermediatemember and a buffering force of the spring so that he or she can feelsconvenience and comfort.

However, this conventional structure of the bed mattress hasshortcomings in that the manufacturing process thereof is complicatedand various processes are required, which leads to an increase in themanufacturing cost and a decrease in workability.

That is, since the conventional bed mattress manufactured by theabove-mentioned process is manufactured through various processes like aprocess in which a multi-layered intermediate member such as a felt anda non-woven fabric is laminatedly attached on the upper and lowersurfaces of the spring assembly, etc., the manufacturing cost and thelabor cost are increased and the manufacturing speed is lowered tothereby deteriorate unit productivity.

Particularly, for the conventional bed mattress, there occurs a problemin that a noise (for example, a noise due to the contact between thesprings or a creaking sound due to compression of the springs) isgenerated by means of a load exerted to the bed mattress during its useor an aging and wearing of the springs according to the long-term use ofthe mattress.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of theaforementioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an objectof the present invention to provide a bed mattress using a permeablereinforcing member and a foaming material, and a method of manufacturingthe same, in which the permeable reinforcing member is provided at anupper portion and/or a lower portion of a spring assembly for the bedmattress, and a foaming material is disposed on the permeablereinforcing member so as to be foamed, so that the permeable reinforcingmember is embedded into the foaming material and simultaneously thespring assembly and the foaming material are integrally formed with eachother while the foaming material is expanded through fine holes of thepermeable reinforcing member.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a bed mattressusing a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming material, and amethod of manufacturing the same, in which the permeable reinforcingmember is penetratingly formed thereon with a plurality of foamexpansion holes arranged along row and column directions in such afashion as to be spaced apart from one another at regular intervals soas to further increase the foaming degree of the foaming materialthrough the foam expansion holes and embedded an engagement portionbetween a spring of the spring assembly and a helical coil, and/or aseam portion between the springs or a space portion between the springsinto the foaming material expanded through the foam expansion holes, tothereby further enhance the bonding force between the spring assemblyincluding the springs and the foaming material.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a bedmattress structure in which a foaming material is provided at an upperportion and a lower portion of the spring assembly as well as thelateral foaming is also progressed at a lateral surface of the springassembly, so that a lateral foaming material is integrally formed withthe spring assembly at the lateral surface of the spring assembly.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a bed mattressstructure in which a foam of a foaming material passes throughthrough-holes of an intermediate layer and then adheres to respectivesprings or helical coils of a spring assembly so as to be coagulated, sothat a crack is prevented from being generated due to a fatigue loadaccumulated at the springs and helical coils to thereby prolong thelifespan of the interior materials of the mattress and the mattressitself as well as reduce a noise of the spring itself.

Accomplishment of the above objects of the present invention enables theelimination of various other processes including an existing process inwhich a multi-layered intermediate member such as a felt and a non-wovenfabric is laminatedly attached on the upper and lower surfaces of thespring assembly, etc., so that the manufacturing cost and the labor costcan be substantially reduced and unit productivity can improved.Particularly, an excellent bonding force between the spring assembly andthe foaming material is provided through a process of foaming thefoaming material using the permeable reinforcing member, a noise due tothe contact between the springs can be prevented from being generated,and the lifespan of the bed mattress can be lengthened.

To accomplish the above object, according to one aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a bed mattress including a spring assemblythat comprises a plurality of springs arranged along row and columndirections over the entire area of the bed mattress, and a helical coilfor securely engaging the springs with one another, the bed mattresscomprising: a permeable reinforcing member provided at an upper surfaceand/or a lower surface of the spring assembly, the permeable reinforcingmember being formed of a single or multi-layered structure; and afoaming material disposed on the outer surface of the permeablereinforcing member so as to be foamed, wherein the permeable reinforcingmember is embedded into the foaming material and simultaneously thespring assembly and the foaming material are integrally formed with eachother through the foaming of the foaming material passing through aplurality of fine holes formed on the permeable reinforcing member.

A cushion material as the foaming material is a polyurethane foam and isintended to be foamed while being cured. Thus, in case where twoliquids, i.e., a polyether polyol and a polyfunctional isocyanate aremixed with each other, they are cured while being subjected to acrosslinking reaction where the two liquids are bonded to each other.Particularly, an example of the foaming material may include a foamingmaterial such as polyethylene, etc., besides polyurethane. Also, all ofthe foaming materials made of a soft material, especially, a memory foammay be taken as an example of the foaming material.

In a preferred embodiment, the permeable reinforcing member is furtherformed thereon with a plurality of foam expansion holes arranged alongrow and column directions in such a fashion as to be spaced apart fromone another at regular intervals so that a part of the foaming materialis permeated through the inside of the spring assembly in an increasedamount through the foam expansion holes so as to be convexedly foamedand an engagement portion between a spring of the spring assembly and ahelical coil and/or a seam portion between springs or a space portionbetween the springs are embedded into the convexedly foamed part of thefoaming material.

Particularly, the permeable reinforcing member is a fine mesh havingfine holes each of which is 1˜30 mm×1˜30 mm in size and/or foamexpansion holes each of which is 3 to 80 mm in diameter.

Also, the permeable reinforcing member is a non-woven fabric having foamexpansion holes each of which is 3 to 80 mm in diameter.

Preferably, the diameter of the foam expansion holes of the permeablereinforcing member is within a range between 25 mm and 35 mm.

In a preferred embodiment, preferably, the foam expansion holes arepenetratingly formed on the permeable reinforcing member in such afashion as to be arranged at a position corresponding to the engagementportion between each spring of the spring assembly and the helical coiland/or the seam portion between springs or the space portion between thesprings.

Further, an edge foamer is fittingly attached to the lateral surface ofthe spring assembly, but a lateral foaming material is not foamed alongthe lateral surface of the spring assembly.

To accomplish the above object, according to another aspect of thepresent invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing abed mattress including a spring assembly that comprises a plurality ofsprings and a helical coil for securely engaging the springs with oneanother, the method comprising the steps of: a first step of fixedlydisposing a single or multi-layered permeable reinforcing member on theupper surface of the spring assembly; a second step of seating thespring assembly in a foaming space of a foaming apparatus filled with afoaming material such that the outer surface of the permeablereinforcing member is in close contact with the foaming space of thefoaming apparatus and then the foaming material is foamed; a third stepof allowing the foaming material to be foamed through fine holes of thepermeable reinforcing member to cause the permeable reinforcing memberand the partial upper portion of the spring assembly to be embedded intothe foaming material; and a fourth step of performing the third step incase where foam expansion holes are further formed in the permeablereinforcing member besides the fine holes and simultaneously allowing apart of the foaming material to permeate through the inside of thespring assembly in an increased amount through the foam expansion holesof the permeable reinforcing member so as to be convexedly foamed sothat an engagement portion between a spring of the spring assembly andthe helical coil and/or a seam portion between adjacent springs or aspace portion between the springs are embedded into the convexedlyfoamed part of the foaming material.

In addition, the foaming material is formed integrally with the upperand lower portions of the spring assembly through a fifth step offixedly disposing the single or multi-layered permeable reinforcingmember on the lower surface of the spring assembly, and then performingthe second, third and fourth steps in the same manner.

An edge foamer is fittingly attached to the lateral surface of thespring assembly in place of the foaming process of the foaming materialperformed at the lateral surface of the spring assembly, and then thefoaming process is performed at the upper and lower portions of thespring assembly.

To accomplish the above object, according to another aspect of thepresent invention, there is also provided a bed mattress including aspring assembly having a plurality of springs arranged along row andcolumn directions over the entire area of the bed mattress and apermeable reinforcing member and an intermediate layer disposed on theupper/lower surfaces of the spring assembly, and a cushion material (afoaming material), wherein a mesh-type permeable reinforcing member andan intermediate layer formed in a single-layered or multi-layered sheetshape and formed therein with a plurality of through-holes areinterposed between the spring assembly and the cushion material (afoaming material), so that the cushion material formed of a foamingmaterial is foamed so as to cause the foaming material foamed throughthe through-holes to be expanded convexedly and adhere to the permeablereinforcing member and the spring assembly to be coagulated.

To accomplish the above object, according to another aspect of thepresent invention, there is also provided a method of manufacturing abed mattress including a spring assembly consisting of a plurality ofsprings and a helical coil for securely engaging the springs with oneanother, the method comprising the steps of: charging a cushion materialas a foaming material into a mattress-shaped mold frame; laminating anintermediate layer formed therein with through-holes arranged spacedapart from one another at regular intervals on the cushion material;laminating the mesh-type permeable reinforcing member on theintermediate layer; deposing the spring assembly on the permeablereinforcing member; allowing the foaming of the cushion material (thefoaming material) to progress; and allowing the foamed cushion materialto be convexedly expanded through the through-holes of the intermediatelayer and the permeable reinforcing member to adhere to the springassembly so as to be coagulated, or the steps of: charging a cushionmaterial as a foaming material into a mattress-shaped mold frame;integrally assembling the spring assembly, a permeable reinforcingmember and an intermediate layer with one another to form an assembly,and disposing the assembly on the cushion material (the foamingmaterial); allowing the foaming of the cushion material (the foamingmaterial) to progress; and allowing the foamed cushion material to beconvexedly expanded through through-holes of the intermediate layer andthe permeable reinforcing member to adhere to the spring assembly so asto be coagulated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the following detailed description ofthe preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which a lower portion of the bedmattress structure represents a state after the foaming is completed,and an upper portion thereof represents a state before the foaming iscompleted;

FIGS. 2 a and 2 b are cross-sectional views sequentially illustratingthe process of manufacturing a bed mattress using a single permeablereinforcing member and a foaming material according to the presentinvention, in which FIG. 2 a shows a state where the foaming material isexpandingly foamed at an engagement portion between a spring of thespring assembly and a helical coil, and FIG. 2 b shows a state where thefoaming material is expandingly foamed at a seam portion between springsor a space portion between the springs;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a multi-layered (at least two layers) permeablereinforcing member and a foaming material according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which fine holes are formed, butfoam expansion holes are not formed on the permeable reinforcing member;

FIG. 4 a is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which the foaming is furtherperformed at a lateral surface besides the foaming performed at theupper and lower portions of the spring assembly;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which an edge foamer is fittinglyattached to the lateral surface of the spring assembly, but a separatelateral foaming is not performed along the lateral surface of the springassembly besides the foaming performed at the upper and lower portionsof the spring assembly;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, which is identical to the structureof FIG. 1, but to which another spring assembly is applied;

FIGS. 7 a and 7 b are cross-sectional views sequentially illustratingthe process of manufacturing a bed mattress using a single permeablereinforcing member and a foaming material according to the presentinvention, in which the structure of the bed mattress is identical tothat of FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, but to which another spring assembly isapplied, and wherein FIG. 7 a shows a state where the foaming materialis expandingly foamed at an engagement portion between a spring of thespring assembly and a helical coil, and FIG. 7 b shows a state where thefoaming material is expandingly foamed at a seam portion between springsor a space portion between the springs;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a multi-layered (at least two layers) permeablereinforcing member and a foaming material according to the presentinvention, which is identical to the structure of FIG. 3, but to whichanother spring assembly is applied;

FIG. 8 a is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which the foaming is furtherperformed at a lateral surface besides the foaming performed at theupper and lower portions of the spring assembly, which is identical tothe structure of FIG. 4 a, but to which another spring assembly isapplied;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which fine holes are formed, butfoam expansion holes are not formed on the permeable reinforcing member,which is identical to the structure of FIG. 4, but to which anotherspring assembly is applied;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which an edge foamer is fittinglyattached to the lateral surface of the spring assembly, but a separatelateral foaming is not performed along the lateral surface of the springassembly besides the foaming performed at the upper and lower portionsof the spring assembly, which is identical to the structure of FIG. 5,but to which another spring assembly is applied;

FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are simulation views illustrating the structure of abed mattress manufactured by using an intermediate layer having aplurality of through-holes formed therein, a mesh-type permeablereinforcing member, and a cushion material as a foaming materialaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 12 a and 12 b are perspective views illustrating the structure ofthe intermediate layer applied to the bed mattress of FIGS. 11 a and 11b;

FIGS. 13 a and 13 b are cross-sectional views sequentially illustratingthe process of manufacturing the bed mattress of FIGS. 11 a and 11 b;and

FIG. 14 is a cross-section view illustrating the structure of aconventional bed mattress.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention with reference to the attached drawings.

The attached FIGS. 1 to 5 and FIGS. 6 to 10 show the same foamingstructure, but different spring assemblies. In the drawings, the springassembly is merely an illustrative example for explaining the foamingstructure and the manufacturing process of the present invention. It isnatural that various types of spring assemblies should be applied to thebed mattress according to the present invention so as to implement thefoaming process.

FIGS. 1 and 6 are perspective views illustrating the structure of a bedmattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, in which a lower portion of the bedmattress structure represents a state after the foaming is completed,and an upper portion thereof represents a state before the foaming iscompleted, FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 7 a and 7 b are cross-sectional viewssequentially illustrating the process of manufacturing a bed mattressusing a single permeable reinforcing member and a foaming materialaccording to the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 8 arecross-sectional views illustrating the structure of a bed mattress usinga multi-layered (at least two layers) permeable reinforcing member and afoaming material according to the present invention.

The present invention is intended to provide a bed mattress having anexcellent durability even through a simple process of integrally formingthe foaming material with the spring assembly at the upper and lowersurfaces of the spring assembly by means of a permeable reinforcingmember. Particularly, the present invention allows the foaming of afoaming material to progress toward the spring assembly through fineholes and/or foam expansion holes formed on the permeable reinforcingmember, to thereby provide an excellent bonding force between the springassembly and the foaming material and prevent the generation of a noisedue to the contact between the springs of the spring assembly.

As mentioned above, the spring assembly 10 for a bed mattress includes aplurality of springs 12 arranged along row and column directions overthe substantially same area as that of the bed mattress, and a helicalcoil as a means for securely engaging adjacent respective springs 12with one another.

More specifically, the upper and lower ends of the spring 12 areconnected together with those of adjacent spring 12, and a connectionportion between the springs 12 is called a seam portion 18.

A single or multi-layered (at least two layers) permeable reinforcingmember 20 is disposed on the upper and/or lower surfaces/surface of thespring assembly 10 formed in the above structure and then is fixed tothe spring assembly 10 by means of Hog Ring in which an air gun shoots acircular loop-shaped piece toward a to-be-fixed-object for fixing it.Besides this Hog Ring, other various methods such as a method ofattaching the permeable reinforcing member to the spring assembly withan adhesive may be used.

The permeable reinforcing member 20 is a mesh-type structurepenetratingly formed thereon with a plurality of fine holes 21 arrangedalong row and column directions, and is embedded into a foaming material24 along with the partial upper of the spring assembly so as to serve asa frame, which will be described later.

The permeable reinforcing member 20 may be embodied in the form of asingle or double layered structure in view of the thickness of thefoaming material 24. Of course it should be appreciated that thepermeable reinforcing member 20 may be constituted by more than twolayers, if necessary.

Particularly, the permeable reinforcing member 20 may be furtherpenetratingly formed thereon with a plurality of circular-shaped foamexpansion holes 22 arranged along row and column directions in such afashion as to be spaced apart from one another at regular intervals. Forexample, a predetermined area of the permeable reinforcing member 20formed thereon with fine holes 21 along row and column directions is cutin a circular shape at a time and is penetratingly formed thereon withthe foam expansion holes 22.

Accordingly, when a foaming material 24 is disposed on the outer surfaceof the permeable reinforcing member 20 to cause the foaming of thefoaming material to progress, the permeable reinforcing member 20 isembedded into the foamed foaming material 24 so as to act as a frame,and simultaneously the upper and lower ends of the springs 10 and thehelical coil 14 for securely engaging the springs with one another arealso embedded into the foaming material 24.

Concurrently, the foaming of the foaming material 24 progresses towardthe spring assembly 10 through the foam expansion holes 22 of thepermeable reinforcing member 20 in such a fashion as to be furtherexpanded convexedly.

In the meantime, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 9, even in case of using thepermeable reinforcing member 20 formed with only the fine holes 21, butnot formed with the foam expansion holes 22, the foaming of the foamingmaterial 24 on the upper and lower portions of the spring assembly ispossible. In this case, since the foaming of the foaming materialprogresses through the fine holes 21 only, the height of the foamingmaterial 24 passing through the fine holes 21 is maintained evenly, butthe thickness of the foaming material 24 being foamed is not sufficientrelatively.

At this time, the permeable reinforcing member 20 preferably employs anyone of a fine mesh and a non-woven fabric. In the case where thepermeable reinforcing member 20 is the fine mesh, each fine holepreferably has a size of 1˜30 mm×1˜30 mm. The reason for this is that ifthe fine hole has a size of less than 1 mm×1 mm, the foaming material 24is not normally permeated through the fine hole during the foamingthereof whereas if the fine hole has a size of more than 30 mm×30 mm,the foaming material 24 is very excessively permeated through the finehole.

In addition, each foam expansion hole 22 of the permeable reinforcingmember 20 preferably has a diameter of 3 mm to 80 mm. The reason forthis is that the foam expansion hole 22 has a diameter of less than 3mm, the area of the foaming material 24 passing through the foamexpansion hole 22 is small but the height of the foaming material 24being foamed is increased whereas if the foam expansion hole 22 has adiameter of more than 80 mm, the area of the foaming material 24 passingthrough the foam expansion hole 22 is large but the height of thefoaming material 24 is decreased and at which time the foaming materialis spread out laterally.

Particularly, more preferably, the diameter of the foam expansion hole22 of the permeable reinforcing material is within a range between 25 mmand 35 mm.

Of course, the foam expansion hole 22 is made larger than the fine hole21. For example, if the fine hole 21 has a size of 1 mm×1 mm, thediameter of the foam expansion hole 22 is selectively applied within arange between 2 mm and 80 mm in view of the application thickness of thefoaming material 24. In the meantime, if the fine hole 21 has a size of10 mm×10 mm, the diameter of the foam expansion hole 22 is selectivelyapplied within a range between 11 mm and 80 mm in view of theapplication thickness of the foaming material 24. Also, if the fine hole21 has a size of 30 mm×30 mm, the diameter of the foam expansion hole 22is selectively applied within a range between 31 mm and 80 mm in view ofthe application thickness of the foaming material 24.

This is merely an illustrative example, and the foam expansion hole 22is set to be larger in size than the fine hole 21 in such a fashion thatthe size of the fine hole 21 and the foam expansion hole 22 isselectively applied in view of the application thickness of the foamingmaterial 24.

Particularly, the foam expansion hole 22 is preferably penetratinglyformed on the permeable reinforcing member 20 in such a fashion as to bearranged at a position corresponding to the engagement portion betweeneach spring 12 of the spring assembly 10 and the helical coil 14. Morepreferably, the foam expansion hole 22 is further penetratingly formedon the permeable reinforcing member 20 in such a fashion as to bearranged at a position corresponding to the seam portion 18 betweensprings 12 of the spring assembly 10 or the space portion between thesprings 12.

The reason for this is that the foaming of the foaming material 24progresses toward the engagement portion between each spring 12 and thehelical coil 14, and the seam portion 18 between the springs 12 adjacentto each other, and the space portion between the adjacent springs 12through the foam expansion holes 22 of the permeable reinforcing member20 in such a fashion as to be further expanded convexedly, to therebyenhance the bonding force between the spring assembly 10 and the foamingmaterial 24 at the engagement portion between each spring 12 and thehelical coil 14, and the seam portion 18 between the springs 12 adjacentto each other, and the space portion between the adjacent springs 12.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2 a, the expandable foaming is carried outat the helical coil 14 of the spring assembly 10. As shown in FIG. 2 b,the expandable foaming may also be performed at the seam portion 18between the adjacent springs, and the space portion between the adjacentsprings besides the helical coil 14 of the spring assembly 10.

Now, a method of manufacturing a bed mattress using a foaming materialaccording to the present invention will be described hereinafter indetail with reference to FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 7 a and 7 b.

First, the bed mattress includes a spring assembly 10 consisting of aplurality of springs 12 arranged along row and column directions overthe entire area thereof in such a fashion as to be spaced apart from oneanother at regular intervals, and a helical coil 14 for securelyengaging adjacent springs 12 with one another.

Subsequently, a single or multi-layered (at least two layers) permeablereinforcing member 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the springassembly 10 and is fixed by using Hog Ring in which an air gun shoots acircular loop-shaped piece toward a to-be-fixed-object for fixing it.

Of course, besides the above Hog Ring, various methods may be used whichincludes a method of attaching the permeable reinforcing member 20 onthe upper surface of the spring assembly 10 using an adhesive.

Next, as the foaming process of the foaming material 24 progresses overthe outer surface of the permeable reinforcing member 20, the foamingmaterial 24 is foamed toward the inside of the spring assembly 10through the fine holes 21 so that the permeable reinforcing member 20 isembedded into the foaming material 24 being foamed to serve as a frameand simultaneously the upper end of the spring 12 is embedded into thefoaming material 24 to thereby cause the foaming material 24 and thespring 12 of the spring assembly to be formed integrally with eachother.

Further, in the case where the permeable reinforcing member 20 isfurther formed thereon with foam expansion holes 22 besides the fineholes, a part of the foaming material is permeated through the inside ofthe spring assembly in an increased amount through the foam expansionholes 22 of the permeable reinforcing member 20 so as to be convexedlyexpandably foamed.

Accordingly, an engagement portion between the springs of the springassembly 10 and the helical coil 14 securely engaging the springs 12,and a seam portion between the springs 12 or a space portion between thesprings 12 are embedded into the foaming material foamed convexedlytoward the inside of the spring assembly 10 to thereby further enhancethe bonding force between the spring assembly 10 and the foamingmaterial 24 at the engagement portion between each spring 12 and thehelical coil 14, and the seam portion 18 between the springs 12, and thespace portion between the adjacent springs 12.

Similarly, a single or multi-layered (at least two layers) permeablereinforcing member 20 is fixedly disposed on the lower surface of thespring assembly 10, and then the foaming material 24 is subjected to thesame foaming process as the above foaming process, so that the foamingmaterial 24 is formed integrally with the lower portion of the springassembly 10. Thus, as shown in the last figures of FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 7 aand 7 b, a bed mattress product is manufactured in which the foamingmaterial 24 is formed integrally with the upper and lower portions ofthe spring assembly 10.

As an alternative embodiment, the foaming material 24 may be foamed onany one of the upper surface and lower surface of the spring assembly 10according to the circumstances.

In the meantime, referring to FIG. 7 b, the foaming material is alsoexpandingly foamed at the seam portion between springs or the spaceportion between the springs 12 besides the engagement portion betweenthe springs 12 and the helical coil 14, to thereby further enhance thebonding force between the spring assembly 10 and the foaming material24.

Now, besides the foaming process performed at the upper and lowerportions of the spring assembly, the foaming process at a lateralsurface of the spring assembly will be described hereinafter.

FIGS. 4 a and 8 a are cross-sectional views illustrating the structureof a bed mattress using a permeable reinforcing member and a foamingmaterial according to the present invention, in which the foaming isfurther performed at a lateral surface of the spring assembly besidesthe foaming performed at the upper and lower portions of the springassembly.

To describe the foaming process at the lateral surface of the springassembly, first a non-woven fabric 26 is attached along the lateralsurface of the spring assembly 10 and then is fixed to the springassembly by means of Hog Ring prior to the progress of the foamingprocess at the upper and lower portions of the spring assembly 10.

Subsequently, the foaming process progresses at the upper and lowerportions of the spring assembly 10 as described above, and then thelateral foaming process is performed.

That is, the spring assembly 10 fixed with the non-woven fabric at thelateral surface is put into a mold (not shown) of the foaming apparatusand the foaming material 24 is injected along the lateral surface of thespring assembly 10. Then, when the spring assembly 10 is removed fromthe mold after the completion of the foaming of foaming material 24, alateral foaming process is finished in which the foaming material 24 isfurther formed integrally with the lateral surface of the springassembly 10.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, an edge foamer 30 is fittinglyattached to the lateral surface of the spring assembly, withoutperforming a separate lateral foaming for the spring assembly 10 andthen the foaming may be performed at the upper and lower portions of thespring assembly 10.

Another embodiment of the present invention will be describedhereinafter.

FIGS. 11 a and 11 b are simulation views illustrating the structure of abed mattress manufactured by using a mesh-type permeable reinforcingmember, an intermediate layer having a plurality of through-holes formedtherein and a foaming material as a cushion material according to thepresent invention, in which FIG. 11 a shows a state where helical coilsare engaged with the springs, and FIG. 11 b shows a state where helicalcoils are not engaged with the springs, FIGS. 12 a and 12 b areperspective views illustrating the structure of the intermediate layerapplied to the bed mattress of FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, in which FIG. 12 ashows a single-layered structure of the intermediate layer and FIG. 12 bshows a multi-layered structure of the intermediate layer, and FIGS. 13a and 13 b are cross-sectional views sequentially illustrating theprocess of manufacturing the bed mattress of FIGS. 11 a and 11 b.

As shown in FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, the structure of the bed mattress ofthe present invention employs a foaming material as a cushion material36 and is configured such that a convexo-foamed mass 40 formed byfoaming the foaming material is securely engaged with the springassembly 10 through the through-holes of the intermediate layer. Asshown in FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, the bed mattress includes a springassembly 10 having springs 12 arranged along row and column directionsover the entire area of the bed mattress, in which the springs 12 aresecurely fixed or not fixed to each other by a helical coil 14, amesh-type permeable reinforcing member 20 disposed over the upper andlower surfaces of the spring assembly 10, an intermediate layer 34laminated on the upper and lower surfaces of the permeable reinforcingmember, which is formed in a single-layered or multi-layered sheetshape, and a cushion material as a foaming material formed on the upperand lower surfaces of the intermediate layer.

The cushion material 36, which is a polyurethane foam, is intended to befoamed while being cured. Thus, in case where two liquids, i.e., apolyether polyol and a polyfunctional isocyanate are mixed with eachother, they are cured while being subjected to a crosslinking reactionwhere the two liquids are bonded to each other. Particularly, an exampleof the foaming material may include a foaming material such aspolyethylene, etc., besides polyurethane. Also, all of the foamingmaterials made of a soft material, especially, a memory foam may betaken as an example of the foaming material.

The intermediate layer 36 is formed in a single-layered or multi-layeredsheet shape which is made of various interior materials such as felts,non-woven fabrics, palms or the like and has a uniform thickness. Theintermediate layer 356 is formed therein with a plurality ofthrough-holes 38 arranged spaced apart from one another at regularintervals along row and column directions.

The through-holes 34 serves as passageways for the expansion of thefoaming material, through which a foam of a foaming material passes andthen adheres to respective springs 12 or helical coils 14 of the springassembly 10 so as to be coagulated.

At this time, the through-holes 38 are formed over the entire area ofthe bed mattress. The reason for this is that the even distribution ofthe foamed mass 40 is induced to thereby establish a stronger bondingbetween the spring assembly 10 and the cushion material 36 (the foamingmaterial).

In particular, the foamed mass 40 of the cushion material 36 (thefoaming material) permeates through the through-holes 38 of theintermediate layer 34 and then adheres to respective springs 12 orhelical coils 14 of the spring assembly so as to be coagulated, so thata crack is prevented from being generated due to a fatigue loadaccumulated at the springs and helical coils to thereby prolong thelifespan of the interior materials of the mattress and the mattressitself as well as reduce a noise of the spring itself.

As shown in FIGS. 12 a and 12 b, the through-holes 38 formed in theintermediate layer 34 are arranged such that they are formed along rowand column directions over the intermediate layer 34 in such a fashionas to be continuously equidistantly spaced apart from one another.

In this case, the through-holes 38 are formed in a shape for allowingeasy escape of the foamed mass 40. The through-holes 38 may have anyshape and arrangement which enhances the bonding strength between thespring assembly 10 and the cushion material 36 (the foaming material).

In the meantime, the permeable reinforcing member 20 is formed in theshape of a mesh-type string with uniform intervals, so that the foamedmass 40 adhere to the mesh-type string to increase fixibility orimmobility of the bed mattress structure, thereby improving the bondingperformance of the spring assembly 10 and the cushion material 36 (thefoaming material) as well as attaining even distribution and bufferingof a load of a sleeper.

The permeable reinforcing member 20 is designed such that it islaminated between the intermediate layer 34 and the spring assembly 10upon the manufacturing process of the bed mattress.

The bed mattress as constructed above is configured such that a foamingmaterial used as the cushion material 36 is expandably foamed throughthe through-holes 38 formed inside the intermediate layer 34 andsimultaneously is coagulated to cause the spring assembly 10 and thecushion material 36 (the foaming material) to be strongly bonded to eachother.

Now, the assembling process of the bed mattress according to the presentinvention will be described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 13 ashowing an assembling process chart.

First, a foaming material as a cushion material 36 is charged into amattress-shaped lower mold frame, and the intermediate layer 34 formedwith the through-holes 38 arranged spaced apart from one another atregular intervals and the permeable reinforcing member 20 aresequentially laminated on the cushion material (the foaming material).

At this time, since the foaming material is slowly foamed, the laminatedstructure (i.e., the intermediate layer, the mesh-type permeablereinforcing member and the spring assembly) are preferably laminatedrapidly before the foaming material is completely foamed.

The foaming material continues to be foamed even while a predeterminedtime period (about 15 minutes) lapses at a state where the springassembly 10 is laminated on the permeable reinforcing member 20. Thefoamed mass 40 is expanded convexedly through the through-holes 38 ofthe intermediate layer 34 so as to adhere to the spring assembly 10.

In this case, the spring assembly 10, the permeable reinforcing member20 and the intermediate layer 34 are separately laminated on the cushionmaterial 36 (the foaming material) in FIG. 13 a. Alternatively, thepermeable reinforcing member 20 and the intermediate layer 34 arestrongly assembled integrally with the lower end of the spring assembly10 to form an assembly and the assembly is laminated on the cushionmaterial (36: the foaming material) in FIG. 13 b.

In the meantime, it is preferable to cover an upper mold frame onto thelower mold frame and fix the upper mold frame so that the foamed mass 40permeates through the through-holes 38 of the intermediate layer 34 at astate where the laminated structure is securely fixed upon the foamingof the foamed mass 40.

The reason for this is that if the foamed mass 40 of the foamingmaterial is not applied with a resistance of the laminated structure,there occurs a case where the volume increases entirely merely but thefoamed mass 40 is not escaped from the through-holes 38.

In the meantime, in case where the permeable reinforcing member 20 isincluded in the bed mattress, the bonding performance of the springassembly 10 and the foaming material is improved, thereby maximizing thebonding force between the spring assembly 10 and the foaming material aswell as enhancing a buffering function through even distribution andabsorption of a load of a sleeper.

As such, since the present invention enables the spring assembly 10, thepermeable reinforcing member 20 and the intermediate layer 34 to befixedly bonded integrally with the cushion material 36 as a foamingmaterial by means of the foamed mass without a separate fixingapparatus, the bonding strength between the spring assembly 10 and thecushion material 36 is relatively increased as compared to aconventional manufacturing process to thereby prolong the lifespan ofthe bed mattress. Also, since the foamed mass 40 is coagulated at thesprings 12 or the helical coils 14, a noise generated due to the contactbetween the coil springs 12 themselves is reduced as well as a crackrisk of the helical coils 14 is lowered to thereby increase the lifespanof the interior springs.

Further, in the conventional manufacturing process of the bed mattress,the intermediate layer member such as a felt, a non-woven fabric and apalm is independently bonded to the upper and lower portions of thespring assembly, which leads to an increase in the number of workingprocesses and a load. However, in the manufacturing process of the bedmattress according to the present invention, the foaming materialpermeates through the through-holes of the intermediate layer and isstrongly assembled with the spring assembly to thereby simplify themanufacturing process.

As apparent from the foregoing, according to the present inventionregarding a bed mattress using a permeable reinforcing member and afoaming material, and a method of manufacturing the same, the permeablereinforcing member having fine holes and a plurality of foam expansionholes is provided at an upper portion and/or a lower portion of a springassembly for the bed mattress, and a foaming material is disposed on thepermeable reinforcing member so as to be foamed, so that the permeablereinforcing member is embedded into the foaming material andsimultaneously the foaming degree of the foaming material is furtherincreased through the foam expansion holes, and the engagement portionbetween the spring of the spring assembly and the helical coil, and/orthe seam portion between the springs or the space portion between thesprings are embedded into the foaming material expanded through the foamexpansion holes, to thereby provide an excellent bonding force betweenthe spring assembly including the springs and the foaming material.

Moreover, the present invention enables the elimination of variousprocesses including a process in which a multi-layered intermediatemember such as a felt and a non-woven fabric is laminatedly attached onthe upper and lower surfaces of the spring assembly, and a process ofbonding the intermediate member, etc., so that the manufacturing costand the labor cost can be substantially reduced and unit productivitycan be improved.

Particularly, since the present invention has a structure in which thesprings and a helical coil portion for securely engaging the springswith one another is surrounded by the foaming material, the foamingmaterial absorbs a noise caused by the friction between the helicalcoils and adjacent springs due to a load exerted to the mattress in itsuse so as to suppress a noise generation.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the foamed mass expandedconvexedly through the through-holes of the intermediate layer isfixedly bonded to the permeable reinforcing member, the spring assemblyand the helical coil, to thereby relatively increase the bondingstrength between the spring assembly 10 and the foaming material ascompared to a conventional manufacturing process to prolong the lifespanof the bed mattress. Also, since the foamed mass is coagulated at thesprings or the helical coils, a noise of the coil springs themselves isreduced as well as a crack risk of the helical coils is decreased tothereby prolong the lifespan of the interior springs.

In addition, in the conventional manufacturing process of the bedmattress, the intermediate layer member such as a felt, a non-wovenfabric and a palm is independently bonded to the upper and lowerportions of the spring assembly, which leads to an increase in thenumber of working processes and a load. However, in the manufacturingprocess of the bed mattress according to the present invention, thefoaming material permeates through the through-holes of the intermediatelayer and is strongly assembled with the spring assembly to therebysimplify the manufacturing process.

While the present invention has been described with reference to theparticular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by theembodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodimentswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A bed mattress including a spring assembly that comprises a pluralityof springs arranged along row and column directions over the entire areaof the bed mattress, and a helical coil for securely engaging thesprings with one another, the bed mattress comprising: a foamingmaterial; and a permeable reinforcing member formed of a single ormulti-layered structure provided between the foaming material and anupper surface of the spring assembly and/or between the foaming materialand a lower surface of the spring assembly, the permeable reinforcingmember being a flat or substantially flat horizontal mesh-type stringstructure in which a first plurality of parallel strings are arrangedacross and perpendicularly to a second plurality of parallel strings toform fine holes therebetween, through which the foaming material canpass so that the height of the foaming material passing through the fineholes is maintained evenly wherein the permeable reinforcing member andthe upper surface and/or lower surface of the spring assembly areembedded into the foaming material.
 2. The bed mattress as set forth inclaim 1, wherein each of the fine holes of the permeable reinforcingmember is 1˜30 mm×1˜30 mm in size.
 3. The bed mattress as set forth inclaim 1, wherein an edge foamer is fittingly attached to the lateralsurface of the spring assembly, but a lateral foaming material is notfoamed along the lateral surface of the spring assembly.
 4. The bedmattress as set forth in claim 1, wherein the permeable reinforcingmember is laminated with an intermediate layer.
 5. The bed mattress asset forth in claim 4, wherein the intermediate layer is a felt, anon-woven fabric, or a palm.